Early Life

Francisco Vasquez de Coronado was born in Salamanca, Spain in 1510. In 1535, he traveled to New Spain and became the governor of New Galicia, which in now Sinaloa and Nayarit, Mexico. He married, Beatriz de Estrada, the daughter of the treasurer, and that's how he eventually got his position as governor. He'd heard about other explorers out in search of the cities of gold, so he decided to conduct his own search, in hopes of finding the cities and becoming very wealthy.

Expedition

Coronado hoped to conquer the Seven Cities of Gold, which included Cibola and the country of Quivira. He set out in February of 1540 with approximately 300 Spanish soldiers and about 1000 Indians to find the Seven Cities of Gold. Coronado split the expedition into small groups and traveled north on today's Arizona-New Mexico state line until he came to the Zuni River. There, he came across the Zuni people. He and the others in his expedition attacked the Zunis because they were hungry and the Zuni refused to give them food. In 1542, while fighting, Coronado fell off his horse and was badly injured. Since he couldn't keep going, he stayed at Zuni while he sent out many scouting expeditions to explore in his place. Some of the people in one of the scouting expeditions were the first to discover the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River. In the end, Coronado never found the Seven Cities of Gold like he wished. After the expedition, Coronado remained governor for a while but the expedition forced him into bankruptcy and resulted in charges of war crimes against him.

Discoveries

Francisco Vasquez de Coronado may not have achieved his goal of finding the Seven Cities of Gold, but he did discover many southwestern parts of the US. His men were the first Europeans to discover the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River that flows through it, and they were also the first Europeans to travel up the Rio Grande.

Death

He was stripped of his governorship two years after his return and became part of the city council for the last few years of his life. Francisco Vasquez de Coronado died of an infectious disease on September 22, 1554, in Mexico City.

Timeline

1538-September- People believe Coronado may be new governor of New Galicia.1539- April 18- Coronado is officially made the governor of New Galicia.1540- January 9-Coronado goes to Guadalajara. February 23-Coronado and his army leave for Cibola.July 7- Cibola reached.1541- April 20- Reaches Tiguex. August-Coronado reaches Quivira and stays briefly.December-Coronado is injured.1542-Early Spring-Coronado and his men decide to go back to Mexico. People aren't happy with his trip and he retires shortly after.